DJ Aerotech 1.5m Chrysalis (Electric)

The folks at DJ Aerotech have spent the last 12 months getting the 1.5 Chrysalis just right. Check it out!

New 1.5m Chrysalis E

From Joe Hahn:

It's been more than ten years since we introduced a new kit and this one has surpassed our expectations. We are excited and proud to introduce the 1.5m Chrysalis E, electric powered sailplane! This units base price is $85.

The 1.5m Chrysalis E is basically an updated version of our original Chrysalis HLG, modified to accept the electric motor.

The kit includes laser cut parts, a fully photo illustrated assembly manual with full size plans, and all hardware required.

Recommended Equipment

We've updated the wing structure with the addition of carbon spar caps, and a laser cut shear web system that makes construction MUCH simpler, as well as stronger while keeping the weight down. We've made the task of center section sheeting easier also, with laser cut sheeting of 1/64" ply. As in the original, an option for building the wing as a 2 piece for easier transport/storage is available. We also added diagonal wing bracing, which stiffens the wing in torsion, and also allows for the use of lightweight covering materials which reduces the weight very significantly. Rather than rubber bands, the wing is secured to the fuselage with screws. All hardware for this is in the kit - screws, washers, and inserts.

The fuselage is the same basic reinforced box type construction, with the forward portion modified to fit our recommended motor/spinner propeller system. An interesting feature is the motor cooling holes.....we arranged the construction so that as the final nose shape is sanded to final contour, the motor cooling holes open up. Also, we now employ a magnetic hatch hold down.

The tail surfaces are the same size as the original, however laser cut lightening holes are now incorporated on both the stabilizers and control surfaces. The kit comes standard as a "V" tail, however a kit for a standard tail is available.

We were looking for a power system that would provide rapid climbs to altitude, as well as a reasonable number of climb-outs before requiring battery change. The combinations we describe on our website is the same one we have available for purchase. We came up with two different combinations: the first provides a very good climb rate, with a climb angle of roughly 45 degrees, and about a minute of run time to good thermal altitude. This system pulls little current and gives many climb-outs. The second system is the one that provides the highest rate of climb we were comfortable with. The climb is very fast, and literally straight up! In 10 seconds the altitude is typically 3 or 4 hundred feet....PLENTY for a nice long soaring experience, even without any lift around!

As far as recommended equipment, 4 to 6 gram servos (2 each) work great for the control surfaces: a micro receiver, and 18 to 20 amp ESC with BEC also work well. Depending on how fast you want to get "up there", either a 2s or 3s LiPo pack of between 450 and 850 mah work great. For minimum weight the 450 packs work well, although with some sacrifice to motor run time. We recommend a "C" rating of 35 minimum for those packs.

The motor and folding propeller/spinner we recommend fit perfectly in the airframe and provide the performance we were looking for. The motor is a "Suppo" 2208-12, and propeller is a 7.5 x 4 with a 34mm spinner.

Final weight of the airframe will vary depending on equipment and covering selection, our prototypes came out between 15.5 and 13.5 ounces. This provides a wing loading of roughly between 4 and 5 ounces/square foot. This is a powered sailplane light enough to work the lightest lift, with the same great handling of the original HLG.....we feel we've met and exceeded our expectations!

Yep, that was Joe (me)!
Thanks for the comments, and thanks to Jim Graham for his awesome assistance in introducing our new little bird!
It is perfect for easy transport, but it's climb rate and ability to thermal more than make up for it's smaller size...my new favorite toy....

I should add that we have sorted out another size of battery that works great, and provides the lightest combination of components: the 450 mah 2 / 3S packs! At 45C rating, these packs have little if any affect on CG as a result of the location in the fuselage, but still provide the power for fast climbs, with a big reduction in overall weight. The tradeoff is fewer climbs to altitude (roughly 4 or 5 as opposed to 8 or 10), but an increase in speed range and sensitivity to lift.
A great option to maximize soaring performance.

Included Instructions are Outstanding

Joe - I received my kit yesterday and I have just finished reading the build instructions cover to cover. I wanted to say that you and Don have done an outstanding job of explaining each step and the pictures that accompany are great at showing the details. For a beginner such as myself they are going to be invaluable. The last build like this was with my father almost 40 years ago. Thank you for spending your time looking after all of the details.

prairiedawg_rc, thank you for those comments, glad you're happy with the instructions, and please be sure to contact us if anything comes up that you're not sure about. We want you to have as much fun with your 1.5E as we've had, from building to flying!

What if you didn't want the lightning holes in the tail panels? Wanting to leave them solid like the 1.5 meter pure sailplane and both 2 meter ships? It's nice to have the option of holes or no holes.

The conventional tail is an option for the new 1.5 meter electric sailplane, unlike the current pure sailplane kit which you have the option of a conventional or v-tail during building. Lightning holes are also optional on either tail version, but chosen during building.

Maybe have two optional conventional tail kits, one with lightning holes, one without, and two optional v-tail kits, one kit with lightning holes, one without, for both 1.5 meter planes.

Gives the customer more options, with added expense of course, which shouldn't be a huge issue, or a ton of added cost.

There are a number of changes in the tail structure, which mandated making the lightening holes standard. The extra work we have to put into them also mandated making the conventional tail an add-on option. Weight savings in the aft end was a BIG driver in all of this. Also, the V-tail is definitely much more popular among our builders than the conventional, to the point that continuing to include the conventional tail in the stock kit amounted to a penalty for the majority of our builders. Bottom line is that there is a lot more to these lightening holes than the lightening holes in the old version of the kit.

There's weight considerations, mass distribution considerations and stiffness distribution considerations that all played into the decision. It was not something we arrived at lightly. The structure of the new tail is different in more ways than just the lightening holes.

If you're surprised by this change, you should see the new tail structure I just designed for the new 2-meter RES model. Over 40 parts in that, and almost all of them are laser-cut.